Urban Meadow + Orchard
Caz and Stephen's backyard came with a beautiful rain garden installed by the city, but the rest of the yard was solid rock mulch. They needed a larger planting area to reduce the rock and bring more habitat space to the garden. We hauled away lots and lots of rock and brought in soil to create a curved garden bed that turned the once burdensome existing rock into a useful pathway opening up to an intentional feeling circular hang out space.
Lots of permaculture thinking went into the space, including the hugelkultur method of burying logs and branches under the soil berms, which creates moisture retentive beds to decrease the amount of watering needed. Nitrogen-fixing shrubs and beneficial insect supporting flowers bring natural fertilizer and pest protection to the edibles.
This skinny backyard was stuffed with fruits like blueberry, sea buckthorn, and pineapple guava, enough space for a small veggie garden, nostalgic plants like heathers from Caz's homeland of England, and lots of native plants for pollination habitat.
LOCATION
Buckman Neighborhood
GARDEN GOALS
- Expand planting area
- Backyard Habitat Certification
- Add edibles and incorporate permaculture style
- Create hang out area
 BEFORE |  AFTER |  BEFORE - looking back at house |
|---|---|---|
 AFTER - The path widens to a circular area for sitting around the fire pit. And the house paint got an upgrade! |  A few months after planting with pots of veggies and herbs |  Pollinator flowers, native grasses, and edible shrubs |
 View from the deck at the height of summer in the first year of growth |  Happy Clients (and new friends) enjoying their yard on a summer evening! |  Same view in Autumn |
 The existing rock was reduced to a wide pathway by hauling away rock and replacing it with soil berms for planting. Plantings include a mix of unique edible shrubs like sea buckthorn, pineapple guava, and natives like red flowering currant, Oregon sunshine, and Douglas aster |  A removable bench top was added to the existing raised bed to increase sitting area in the hang out zone. Salvaged bricks were used for a low-cost edging |  Self seeding California poppy was left to grow naturally in the rock to create a meadow feel |
 Secret Garden entrance under the fig and apple trees |  A new stepping stone path laid 2 years later for easier access to the edible plants. Gardens and their needs unfold organically, you can't always plan for everything at once! |  A new rain garden added 2 years later to direct overflow from the client's rain barrels |
 A pocket of native woodland plants |  INSPIRATION PHOTO FOR DESIGN CONCEPT |